UFCJC receives Top Five recognition in the 2025-26 Hearst Journalism Awards Team/Individual Investigative Reporting Competition
University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Journalism senior Lee Ann Anderson and Kai Johnsen, B.S. Journalism 2025, received third place, and Matthew Cuppelli, B.S. Journalism 2025, placed fourth in the 2025-26 Hearst Journalism Awards Team/Individual Investigative Reporting competition. The winners were selected from 71 entries from 47 schools submitted in the final writing competition of the year.
Anderson and Johnsen received a $1,500 award for “Democrats fielded candidates for every legislative seat; some live hundreds of miles from districts where they’re running.” The story focused on Florida candidates for House and Senate races that were not following legal requirements to live and be registered in the district they wanted to represent.
Cuppelli’s story, “Exclusive – Top Florida GOP official was convicted in probe into his romantic involvement with inmate during his time as jail employee,” focused on the newly elected vice chair of the Republican Party of Florida who was convicted in 2019 as part of a state felony investigation into whether he had a sexual relationship with an inmate when he was a jail guard. The story provided previously unreported details about the case and the outcome. Cuppelli received a $1,000 award for the story.
UF is the now winner of the 2025-26 Hearst Journalism Awards Intercollegiate Writing Competition earning the highest cumulative student point total across this year’s four writing contests.
The Journalism Awards Program, now in its 66th year, added broadcast journalism competitions in 1988. In addition to the broadcast competitions, the awards program includes four writing, two photojournalism and four multimedia contests. The program offers up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends and is open to accredited undergraduate journalism programs from 104 schools within the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Category: Alumni News, College News, Student News
Tagged: 2025-26 Hearst Journalism Awards. 2025-26 Hearst Team/Individual Investigative Reporting Competition Kai Johnsen Lee Ann Andersen Matthew Cuppelli
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